In Other News: 7/8/10

Quick hits from around the sports world for your afternoon delight. Note: All proceeds from sponsorships will be donated to inflating my ego

Big Night for Big Lebron

Yes, tonight Lebron will end the free agent madness by announcing which team he will sign with in front of a televised audience. I could write a book about this and still not cover an ounce of what the media world has already covered on this topic, so instead of talking about the possibility of him going to Miami or him donating tonight's proceeds to the Boys and Girls club, I want to talk about Cleveland. We have to stay in character, right? Let's take a look at the franchises Cleveland fans can fall back on. Their baseball team, the butt of many a joke in the movie Major League, is currently managed by an even bigger joke who wasn't good enough for the powerhouse Washington Nationals. Their farm system American Hockey League Lake Erie Monsters (that name just strikes fear in you, doesn't it?) have had an impressive 94 - 116 record in their 1st 3 seasons. Oh, and then there's the Browns, who look forward to seeing what their latest all-star addition can do for the team (can you say #1 overall fantasy pick?). In the short term, though, they get to look forward to tonight when their home-grown hero announces he has picked his ego over his home admitted he can't win alone taken up voodoo decided to go in another direction. Shoulda listened, Cleveland...

In other news...

Win-Win-Win for World Cup Finals

This is shaping up to be an epic World Cup Final, and if I'm allowed to wear two hats for a second, the "This is what I selfishly want" hat and the WMBC hat, dare I say it, I can't see me being unhappy with how this'll all pan out.

WMBC hats, hmm...

Yep, it's looking like a win-win-win for sports fans. Think about it:

Another Giant Taken Down

Alright, I lied. I'm not done writing about the World Cup yet.

I frustratingly joked that I'd watch soccer again in 2 years when the World Cup prelims started up again, but that wasn't true. So why the change of heart, you ask? Well, I didn't have much vested personal interest in the NHL Finals when it was Flyers-Blackhawks, but I wrote about it. And even though I covered a good amount of the NBA Finals, I feel my best post was when the Suns and Magic were still contending (still no personal vested interest). So what do these topics have in common with the World Cup? The have-never's and haven't-in-a-while's still got a fighting chance!

End of the Line for U.S.A. Soccer

Late game heroics couldn't save the U.S. team from elimination

Man, I really had hoped I wouldn't have to be writing this article this soon. As both a fan and a writer for a blog that focuses on teams that can't seem to shake losing, you're aware that very often if you root for certain teams once in a while you have to bite the bullet and write about your team's loss. As such, I allowed myself some time to cool off after U.S.A.'s eliminating loss to Ghana, again, so I could approach this post with a level head and mature demeanor. With that, I can now honestly express my well thought out feelings:

In Other News 6/24/10

Quick hits from around the sports world for your afternoon delight. Estimated reading time: approximately 11 hours, 5 minutes

History Made at Wimbledon

Nope, this has nothing to do with any of the usuals. Don't know if any of you were watching Wimbledon over the past three days, but today John Isner finally defeated Nicolas Mahut in the longest match at Wimbledon ever. The match was called due to darkness two straight nights and lasted 3 days, 183 games, and 980 points. Unfortunately, due to this match being between the 23rd ranked player in the world and the 149th ranked player in the world, it will go the way all other insane sports records go (Quickly, who can tell me the only major league baseball player to hit two grand slams in the same inning off the same pitcher? Can you name the pitcher too?), and due to that we say...

In other news...

GOOOAAAL!

Donovan's Injury Time Goal Sent USA Fans From South Africa to the White House Into A Frenzy

There are times when I love my borderline comical inability to predict an outcome right before the end of a game.

I mean, for ever thousand or so "Holy cow we can pull this off!" predictions that I end up being horribly wrong about (I used to be so ecstatic about my fortune telling job prospects), there occurs events such as those which just transpired on the ol' pitch.

Oh yeah. Say it with me people, "Group Champions."

In -> Out: How Sweet It Is

Four Years Later, Same Result

Trying out a new theme series of blog updates here, hence the title. Let me know if you get it, and/or if you like it

Sometimes, things work out just the way you wanted.

Other times, however, life's nice enough to give you a little extra, too.

Today, South Africa and France were both eliminated from competition after South Africa defeated captain-less France 2-1. South Africa, therefore, becomes the first host country to fail making it out of the group stage (Songs > Vuvuzelas when it comes to home pitch advantage? Don't worry, I won't go down that road...yet). But despite the loss and record setting elimination, the South Africa Coach still beamed with pride while speaking of his players and how they represented their country.

Uh oh, France. The title of the blog + process of elimination with regard to who I can talk about in this post = ...